Polluting Paradise

Camburnu, a village in Surmene near Trabzon, sits on a slope covered in tea fields. The state decides to build a landfill there. The villagers object for years, go to court, win and lose, while the leachate works its way into the water and the soil. The documentary follows this alongside them, in footage gathered over years. Fatih Akin directed and produced. Herve Dieu photographed it. It runs 97 minutes. Its starting point is personal: the village is where Akin's family comes from. It screened in the Special Screenings section of the Cannes Film Festival on 18 May 2012 and opened in Germany on 6 December 2012. Who it is for: viewers who like films that document environmental struggle and local resistance. Who it is not for: anyone expecting a balanced presentation. The documentary stands openly with the villagers and gives no room to the authorities' reasoning.